Chapter 62: Dispersing Unhappily

  If anyone has a spare vote for the Pink Ticket, please give it to Lingshui.

  Zheng Fanghui was an apprentice. According to the rules of Nan Shan Town, apprentices would spend three years learning a trade from their master. In addition to buying things to show respect to their master during holidays, they also had to work for their master without pay.

  Of course, if he leaves Huang Shifu and stays with Zheng Fangjing in Yu Zhuo Fang, he will naturally get a salary. But from then on, he can only learn craftsmanship from Zheng Fangjing, and other masters do not accept this kind of halfway abandoning the master. However, the jade carving industry is very particular about the origin of the master's name. Without a formal master's door background, unless the craftsmanship is particularly good, others will not dare to invite you. Moreover, with his current ability, he can only get the salary of an odd job worker, at most one or two silver coins.

  But Liu didn't want his good son to ruin his future just to help the Ye family, and besides, the Zheng family didn't lack that bit of money.

  Zheng Fanghui's decision to stay or leave was within Huang Shifu's expectations, and he listened without surprise. He opened his mouth and said: "Boss Qian said that since Fang Jing is my apprentice, the monthly salary will be four taels of silver."

  Liu heard four taels of silver, and his heart was moved. Originally in Ruyi Fang, Huang Shifu's monthly salary was seven taels, and Zheng Fangjing's monthly salary was two taels. Even if Ye Yuqi took over, he still followed this wage standard. But now, Langyue Pavilion suddenly offers such a high salary, no wonder Huang Shifu is willing to let others say that he is unfaithful and wants to go there. It seems that the boss of this money is very satisfied with the craftsmanship of Huang Shifu and Zheng Fangjing!

  She looked at Ye Yuqi with a glance, hoping that Ye Yuqi could also come up with the same enthusiasm as when he bought the workshop. To offer a higher price than Langyuan Pavilion. If Ye Yuqi's price is high, it's possible that Langyuan Pavilion will be reluctant to let go of Zheng Fangjing and make another bid to suppress Ye Yuqi. Anyway, whichever family offers more money, she'll let her son go to that family.

  Ye Yiqi smiled and said, "Fang Jing is willing to stay, and I'll pay him four taels of silver as his wages." He then looked at Huang Shifu, "Of course, if Huang Shifu can stay, I'm also willing to follow the conditions of Langyuan Pavilion."

  Ye Zhuo listened and felt a bit anxious. What if the Luan Yue Pavilion didn't actually want to invite Huang Shi Fu, and all these words were just nonsense spouted by Huang Shi Fu? Wouldn't they have fallen into his trap then? However, thinking again, Huang Shi Fu not only mentioned his own wages but also Zheng Fang Jing's. If Zheng Fang Jing really followed him and he couldn't make good on it, how would he face the Zheng family? Moreover, even if he wanted to lie about his wages, he wouldn't have asked for such a high price.

  It seems that...

  Huang Shifu listened to that and smiled bitterly, shaking his head: "Old Master Ye, I understand your kindness. But I've already wronged you for the sake of money, and now I've also promised Old Master Qian. If I were to wrong him again, my conscience would be uneasy. I'd better stay at Langyuan Pavilion. My craftsmanship isn't top-notch anyway; you can invite another jade carver, it's all the same." After finishing, he looked at Zheng Fangjing: "Fangjing, don't be influenced by me, do as you please."

  "This...". Ye Yuqi sincerely wanted to stay, but Huang Shifu said this, making Zheng Fangjing even more embarrassed. He scratched his head and looked at Zheng Pengju for help.

  Zheng Pengju's heart was inclined towards the Ye family. Now that the Ye family's workshop is about to open, they can't find a jade carver master. At this time, leaving would be like throwing charcoal in the snow. For the sake of this child, Zhuo Er, he should do so too. Moreover, although Ye Yuqi's workshop funds are not as abundant as Boss Huang's, without Master Huang, Zheng Fangjing is already a great master and can hold his own, even more so to temper himself and stand out. Therefore, seeing Zheng Fangjing's gaze, he cleared his throat and prepared to speak.

  However, a wife knows her husband best. As soon as Liu saw Zheng Pengju like this, she knew it was going to be bad and quickly spoke up: "Master Huang, look, one side is relatives, the other side is Master, both sides are emotional, and the wages given by both sides are equally high. We also sympathize with Fang Jing, choosing either side will offend the other. Why don't we do this? Master Huang, you go to Langyuan Hall again and mention that Yuzhuangfang has also offered such a high salary to keep Fang Jing, see what they say. If they add some money, we might consider going to Langyuan Hall."

  She also understood it clearly. Firstly, Huang Shifu liked Zheng Fangjing, who was down-to-earth, hardworking and a quick learner; secondly, the Langyuan Pavilion was not small, with many jade carving masters inside, although the pay was high, but the pressure was also great. Huang Shifu in such an unfamiliar environment, after all, needed someone familiar to help him out. And Zheng Fangjing was the best candidate.

  So even if she said this, Huang Shifu would be unhappy, but he would definitely help Zheng Fangjing plead his case.

  Huang didn't hear the Zheng family agree to follow him, and although he was a bit unhappy in his heart, it's human nature to seek profit, so wanting more wages wasn't unreasonable - wasn't he just regretting because of the high wages offered by Langyuan Pavilion? So hearing this, he nodded: "Alright, I'll talk to them." Then he stood up and said to Ye Yuqi: "There's still something at home, so I won't stay long. Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Ye, let me apologize." As he spoke, he bowed deeply.

  "Huang Shifu, please don't be too polite. I understand your choice." Ye Yuqi smiled and said, "We'll have to eat soon, let's eat first and then leave. Our business may not have worked out, but we still have a good relationship. Huang Shifu doesn't need to worry, stay here and have a few drinks with me and Zhuo'er's uncle?"

  "No, no, it's really a family matter, I'll take my leave!" Master Huang naturally didn't feel like staying here to drink anymore, so he cupped his hands and turned to leave.

  "Autumn moon, see off Master Huang." Ye Yiqi called out. He himself also walked a few steps, sending Master Huang to the entrance of the hall.

  "Yes." Qiūyuè hastily followed up and opened the door for Huáng Shīfu.

  "How can you talk like that? You only consider money and ignore human feelings, erasing the relationships on both sides. How will Fang Jing take care of herself in the future?" Zheng Pengju scolded Liu Shi in a low voice.

  Liu didn't think he had done anything wrong and said unhappily, "What's wrong with considering money? Don't people always say 'business is business'? Fang Jing has already graduated, can't always work for his master for free, right? And here at the Ye family, he is the boss, an employee and the boss don't mention money, do they still talk about relationships? If he only talks about relationships, asking you to work for free without paying, would you do it?"

  Zheng Pengju looked at Ye Yuqi, who had already turned around, let out a sigh, and then fell silent. On the other hand, he saw his eldest son glance at Ye Zhuo with an expression that seemed somewhat disappointed and disheartened, which made him feel a pang in his heart. However, thinking that the Ye family only had this one granddaughter, Ye Zhuo, whom they had adopted, and that they would have to take in a son-in-law in the future, he shook his head secretly and dispelled the thought. For the sake of his sister, he couldn't be so generous as to let his own son marry into another family.

  Why don't we just let Fang Jing go to Lang Xuan Hall then?

  Because of Huang Shifu's matter, this meal was not very enjoyable. Ye Yiqi thought about the opening of the workshop tomorrow, but one jade carver had not been settled yet, and he regretted not being able to get up immediately to find a jade carver, so he was distracted when treating guests; Zheng Fangjing thought that if he stayed or left Yu Zuan Workshop, it would not be good for Ye's family either way, and he didn't know what his cousin thought of him, so he also couldn't muster the spirit. Liu Shi originally resented that the originally poorer Ye family had become the master of Zheng Fangjing brothers, now with a better choice, she was unwilling to put in effort to socialize, her attitude became lukewarm. So despite Guan Shi's enthusiastic hospitality, this meal ended hastily.

  It was Zheng's family, seeing Guan and Zhao's genuine affection for their daughter, Ye Zhuo also willing to get close to them. Although the yard is not big, the living environment is still good, and the daughter's room is decorated with great care, so she felt at ease. This meal was quite enjoyable.

  After dinner, after sending off the Zheng family, Ye Yuqi was in a hurry to go out.

  "Grandfather." Ye Zhuo called out to him, "Don't be in a hurry to leave, come inside and let's discuss it further."

  "What else is there to consider? This jade carving workshop doesn't even have a jade carver, no matter how good the idea is, it can't be done." Ye Yuqi said. Although he said so, he still turned around and sat back down in the hall, looking at Ye Zhuo.

  "Is this jade carver hard to invite?" Ye Zhuo asked.

  "Speaking of it as difficult is difficult, speaking of it as easy is easy."

  "What's this supposed to mean?"

  "It's hard to say, because a good jade carver is in high demand, and it's difficult to hire one without paying a high price. An average jade carver is relatively easier to find, as long as you offer a high enough price. If you ask him to work for three or five days, you can still find one or two. As for those inexperienced apprentices who have just started their careers, if the pay is suitable, word will get out in the morning and someone will come to apply within an hour."

  He glanced at Ye Zhuo and said, "However, if you don't have a good jade carver in the workshop, when customers bring good jade, you won't be able to process it, which would be a loss of face. So, to establish the workshop's reputation, you need to find a good jade carver as the master craftsman and then pair him with two average craftsmen. A good jade carver usually has apprentices who can do miscellaneous tasks, so you don't need to hire others, just provide them with food and lodging, no extra pay is needed. Of course, if you don't provide food and lodging, you still need to give them some money, but not much."

  "And this Huang Shifu, is he quite skilled?" Ye Zhuo asked again.

  Ye Yiqi shook his head: "He's just a bit above average."

  Ye Chou raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Why did Langyue Pavilion take the risk of offending us by insisting on inviting him?"

  "That's because the owner of Langyue Pavilion, Mr. Qian, had some unpleasant dealings with me in the past. So he wants to sabotage our performance."

  Ye Zhuo was silent for a moment: "So, your meaning is that the condition my eldest brother proposed, he will definitely agree to it? In order to block us, he even offered four taels of silver as wages, and it seems that half a tael of silver is not a big deal."

  "That's right." Ye Youqi stroked his beard, "So, I'd better hurry up and find some friends to see if we can find one or two jade carvers with slightly better skills to take over."

  "Grandfather, don't be in a hurry. I have an idea, listen and see if it's feasible."

  Thank you stillia for the cake, thank you shijieguang for the pink ticket, muah muah~ (RQ)